


Men Frozen in Time

by FairlyQueerQueen



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: <1000 words, Angst, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Canon up through after credits scene in CACW, Character Reflection, Drabble, Hurt, Multi, No Sexual Content, No real warnings, Short, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Steve and Bucky-centric, ambiguous end, and a warm bath, and grieving, at all, bc he fucking loved peggy, cold i guess, hopeful at the end though, idk how to tag, little comfort at least, mentioned relationships, no comfort, plot?? I don't know her, so short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 00:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11956182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairlyQueerQueen/pseuds/FairlyQueerQueen
Summary: Steve hated the cold.It wasn’t just hatred, it was fear, the kind of icy terror that stiffened your movements and made your mind race. It was Death slowly reaching for him, never quite reaching him but always getting those around him. His father, his mother, his comrades.Bucky.





	Men Frozen in Time

Steve hated the cold.

It wasn’t just hatred, it was fear, the kind of icy terror that stiffened your movements and made your mind race. It was Death slowly reaching for him, never quite reaching him but always getting those around him. His father, his mother, his comrades.

Bucky.

He hadn't always been necessarily afraid of it—it had never been a good thing, cold winters in a Brooklyn apartment where they had to choose between heating and dinner was rough but not unusual during the Great Depression—but it had crept into his life, swirling frosted patterns around the edges.

There was the cold of the apartment, in the short space between Bucky leaving and Steve going off to training himself, the empty spaces once filled with Bucky’s laughter, and light, and smile. A cold spot at the table, on the couch, in their bed. Steve took to sleeping on blankets on the floor— _like when we were kids_ —instead of facing the crushing loneliness awaiting him.

There was the pelting rain in Germany, where he had heard of the kidnapping and ice froze in his veins, stronger than ever but still so weak when it came to Bucky. Peggy close behind as he demanded _answers_ , where is the 102, where is _Bucky_.

The biting cold as he reached out a hand, as the brittle metal bar snapped, as Bucky, wide eyed and _scared_ , had fallen, down, down, down. Peggy had brought him to medical, not asking for explanations where there were none, not making him say what he couldn't even think.

He crashed the plane in the ice, making promises to Peggy that sounded so _warm_ , so good, that he was sure they couldn't be meant for him. And then the icy water was pouring in, and so many people were safe, he had done his job, but God he was so _cold could someone make it stop **please** he couldn't breathe_ —

* * *

 

And then Steve woke up, and the world had needed saving, a bright, flashy new world with a new team and a new job. Maybe the cold would leave him alone. He took scalding showers, did whatever SHIELD asked, and tried to forget, to only bring back the brief flashes of warmth, Peggy’s red lipstick, in one final searing kiss, Bucky’s tired smile in that bar, laughing at the Commandos.

Eventually, Jack Frost caught up. The Winter Soldier, and _hah_ , wasn’t that just hilarious, except no, it really wasn’t, because it turned out he was Bucky. Bucky, but with icy blue eyes and a metal arm that felt freezing when it hit him, over and over until he made a promise and then he was falling.

But he woke up—again, of course, why couldn't they just let him _sleep_ —and the world was in panic and Bucky was nowhere to be found. Steve had a new job now, this time to thaw the ice that had kept them both for so long, to bring out a ghost from behind a machine.

So he got back up, and Bucky was still gone, and his suit and shield felt like they were made of ice, his mask of calm like a thin layer of ice over a lake, with currents too strong to be released, that had to be contained.

A mission went wrong and the Accords were put into place, and Steve was fighting Tony again because _dammit we can’t be controlled like this, Stark_ , but Peggy died and her casket was cool when he carried it. She had lived a life, but he wasn't in it, her fiery passion had burned bright while he slept frozen. Bucky returned, wearing red and once again as warm as decades ago, finally back.

Until he and Bucky went to Siberia and found Tony. When it all went wrong with one video that lead to a fight with subzero air chilling their bones. When Bucky went under, back into the ice, _willingly_ , and Steve could hardly stop himself from screaming because of course.

  
So now he stands, a window to his front showing the beauties of Africa, warm and tempting, but to his back is Bucky, and he can't forget now, can’t move on, because Buck had waited _so long_ for him and now Steve has to wait for him because the line isn't over yet, and they’ll outlast this eternal winter together if it kills them.

**Author's Note:**

> Take this and leave me to die in peace. I hope this metaphor hasn't been overused already. This is my first fanfic here, so congrats on getting through that mess if you're reading this. There was originally gonna be a sequel featuring Tony and heat, but why not just make a vague ice reference and dump it here to remain forever. Thanks for reading this, leave a comment or kudos if you liked it please!


End file.
